MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'explanation'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:23:04 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130746&cid=t_166875_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fphysician-enjoys-the-ease-of-a-new-emr%2F2011.08.15 Seven months into 2011, things look very different than they did this time last year at my office. Not only have I been using an electronic medical record for nine months now, but I’ve also been submitting claims electronically (through a free clearinghouse) using an online practice management system. I’ve also begun scanning patients’ insurance cards into the computer, as well as converting all the paper insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) into digital form. I’ve even scanned all my office bills and business paperwork and tossed all the actual paper into one big box. As of the first of the year I even stopped generating “daysheets” at the end of work each day. After all, with my new system I can always call up the information I want whenever I need it. How did such a comm... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130746 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:00:48 +0100 5130746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3776380&cid=t_166875_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdo-insurance-companies-help-kill-primary-care%2F2010.07.21 Most doctors have a love/hate (and mainly hate) relationship with health insurance companies. We struggle with their confusing and complex coding rules in an effort to be reimbursed for our care of patients. When patients leave the office, they may think that a bill is sent to their insurance company and payment follows. More often than not it rarely happens that way. I am staring at an explanation of benefits (EOB) from Blue Shield of California for a patient I saw for a physical exam and Pap test. This patient had recently been hospitalized with a life threatening throat infection and abscess and saw me for needed follow up. I spent about 45 minutes with the patient, reviewing the events leading to hospitalization, coordinating the medications, as well as addressing the routine screening... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3776380 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:00:00 +0100 3776380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603716&cid=t_166875_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fsomething-you-can-do-for-world-ms-day%2F Today, May the 26th, 2010 has been proclaimed World MS Day by Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. This is the second of such observances. When I wrote about the day last year, I noted several of us who would have liked to do something in respect to the day, but didn’t know what, where or how. Today, not necessarily in direct connection with World MS Day, I have something we can all do (in a matter of 5 minutes) which might make us feel like we’ve added to the body of knowledge, as it were. Last week, I was forwarded a link to a short (like 5-question short) survey about MS and the Internet by the National MS Society. The results of which will be published in the fall edition of “Momentum”, the Society’s quarterly magazine. There is no personal information required in th... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603716 Thu, 27 May 2010 02:34:12 +0100 3603716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3471833&cid=t_166875_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Ffull-moon-new-moon-illusion.html Why does the full moon seem bigger when it’s near the horizon than when it’s high in the sky? The moon illusion, which also applies to the perception of the size of the sun in the sky, has intrigued artists and puzzled psychologists for many years. The moon illusion refers to the fact that the sun and moon appear (to most people) to be a lot bigger when low on the horizon than when they are above us in the sky. Regardless of their position in the sky, however, the full moon and the sun both subtend an angle of about 0.5 degrees. There is no weird atmospheric refraction-magnification effect taking place. That said, there is a slight variation in the angle subtended by the moon depending on its actual distance from the earth, and atmospheric refraction makes the moon’s ima... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3471833 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:00:51 +0100 3471833 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2442195&cid=t_166875_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fhappy-world-ms-daysort-of%2F I’ll have to admit to you the mixed emotions of the first annual World MS Day. The fact that celebrities, politicos and athletes are rallying around our cause is heartening. That the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation has mustered all of its troops for a worldwide day of events, research and understanding for this annual (last Wednesday in May) is a pretty big deal; especially for folks who live in places where MS is either understood little or (worse) misunderstood completely. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to support this thing to the best of my ability (how many of you are hearing about this for the first time through this blog? That’s doing something, isn’t it?).  I’ll go to an event, I‘ll write my representatives in congress I’l... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2442195 Wed, 27 May 2009 17:22:18 +0100 2442195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1981202&cid=t_166875_134_f&fid=36049&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FDiabetesNotes%2F%7E3%2FUtLThV84ge8%2F Aren’t quite sure what diabetes really is? Want to know what happens in the body? Here’s a nice video that will put it all in perspective: Tags: diagram, explanation of diabetes, pancreas, Research, study, videoShare This (Source: Diabetes Notes) Diabetes Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1981202 Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:32:51 +0100 1981202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1912476&cid=t_166875_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F28%2Fexplaining-pain-to-people-with-chronic-pain%2F One of the most challenging jobs we do in chronic pain management is help people get their heads around what chronic pain is…without giving them the idea that we think they’re imagining it, they’re mentally unwell, they’re ‘pretending’, ‘malingering’ or otherwise ‘not coping’. While I can’t say I’ve got the answer, after explaining what pain is for a few years (not telling how many!), there are some things I find work better than others… The first thing is to have a bunch of examples of everyday pain (mainly acute pain) to act as examples - mine include getting a flu jab, sunburn, a stubbed toe, sports bruises, and shark bites!  This helps people understand that pain is a normal, everyday experience that is unde... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1912476 Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:48:14 +0100 1912476 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1531459&cid=t_166875_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fquestions-from-readers.html In January I received some questions from a reader, prompted by a post I had written in November 2006. The post was entitled “Blip”, and at that time Mr Man’s medication had been changed, causing a temporary fluctuation in his symptoms. This had led to him believing that many of our friends were spies, and that even his Psychiatrist was “in on it”. You can read the full post here. Below is a portion of my correspondence with the reader, for the benefit of those who may be in a similar situation."How do you handle it when Mr Man says things like “she’s in on it”? And how do you handle living with someone who always believes that people are spies? I have fears about when my hubby comes home – how am I going to feel with him always thinking that people are after him? I have ... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1531459 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:13:00 +0100 1531459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1186134&cid=t_166875_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fzimney%2Fheath-ledgers-autopsy-inconclusive-so-far%2F When death strikes someone at a young age, it is always tragic - and there are always questions. For most, the questions are limited to the family, friends and perhaps to some in the local community. For celebrities, the questions become national, even international. Sometimes the questions are about the cause of death, but they always involve the whys. Why them, why now, why our child? These latter questions are existential in nature and are rarely, if ever, fully answered. The former, however, are the purview of the pathologist, a physician with specialized training in solving the physical causes of death. Sometimes the answers are obvious, sometimes not. On rare occasion, they are never determined. In the case of Heath Ledger, the questions remained unanswered as of this writing. I’m ... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1186134 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:25:13 +0100 1186134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1142518&cid=t_166875_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Fviolence-and-schizophrenia-comments.html I would like to thank all those who commented recently on my posts “Violence and Schizophrenia”. Often I find that the comments left by readers are more interesting and informative than the posts I have written! Some of the explanations of what it is like to suffer violent intrusive thoughts were too valuable to leave unread by the majority in the comments section.“The thoughts are like movies you can't shut off... no matter how horrible it is I can't press stop… I'm forced to "watch" the whole thing until it is done.”- Minnesnowta“I've struggled with these thoughts for a long, long time. I thought they made me a horrible person and I have done very silly things to try and erase them from my mind. I could not even write them down for fear that they would become more real.”–... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1142518 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:36:00 +0100 1142518 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1081627&cid=t_166875_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F12%2Fviolence-and-schizophrenia-part-one.html I’ve only ever really skimmed over the symptoms of Schizophrenia in my blog. To be honest, there are so many websites that list the diagnostic criteria for Schizophrenia already, and probably far more accurately and eloquently than I ever could. When you are a sufferer of Schizophrenia though, or care for someone who is a sufferer, you realise that there are other common symptoms which are not listed as part of the diagnostic criteria, but are suffered none the less. One of these symptoms is intrusive thoughts. What do I mean by that?I don’t mean the compulsive thoughts that Mr Man often struggles with. Compulsive thoughts are similar to what is experienced by a person suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – an obsessive compulsion to carry out often ritualistic behaviour acco... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1081627 Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:35:00 +0100 1081627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1002841&cid=t_166875_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Ftruth-revealed.html Continued from "The First Three Weeks"End of June 2002It was a Thursday. A bed had become available for Mr Man in the Acute ward in the Psychiatric hospital. The decision was made to move him from one hospital to the other during the afternoon. A member of staff took him in a taxi. I wasn’t allowed to visit him until the evening during the usual visiting hours. Up until this point I had been with Mr Man at every appointment; every team meeting. I had been with him during the whole admission process when he was first admitted into hospital. But now for the first time I felt completely excluded from his care.It wasn’t just my own feelings I was concerned about though; Mr Man had relied on my support through every step; we had been inseparable for months leading up to his admission, and I... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1002841 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:31:00 +0100 1002841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=749087&cid=t_166875_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F07%2Fas-time-goes-by.html Thank you to Mslmgarner, who recently posted a couple of questions for me in the comments section. I apologise in advance if my answers cover things that you already know, but your questions are similar to those I have been asked in emails and thought a more in depth blog response might answer a few questions for other readers as well.Mslmgarner asks:“How long have you and Mr. Man been dealing with Schizophrenia?”Mr Man has been dealing with Schizophrenia for a lot longer than I have. He has been hearing voices since his teens, but I didn’t become aware of it until June 2002 – a little over 5 years ago – even though we had already been married for nearly 5 years.Mr Man wasn’t deliberately secretive about his symptoms. As is common with all sufferers of Schizophrenia, he didn’... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=749087 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:22:00 +0100 749087